Maroubra volunteer Tanya Coleman has been named the 2026 Sydney City/Eastern Suburbs Adult Volunteer of the Year for her work organising netball competitions, mentoring young volunteers and giving her time as a coach and umpire.
The Centre for Volunteering says Coleman helps grade and organise competitions involving 280 teams. Randwick City Council separately reports that the association has more than 4,500 registered members and draws about 10,000 participants and visitors to Heffron Park on busy winter Saturdays.
Coleman also mentors young people completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award and continues to contribute at club level through coaching and umpiring.
The work behind every Saturday at Heffron Park
The scale of Coleman’s role is easy to underestimate from the sidelines. Randwick Netball Association currently lists her as its Senior Competition Coordinator, a position at the centre of the weekly logistics needed to keep hundreds of teams moving through a competition season.
Saturday netball is defined by fixtures, court times and results for players and their families. Behind that visible routine is the less conspicuous work of grading teams, arranging competitions and dealing with the practical demands that come with one of the biggest sporting communities in the area.
Council reported in 2025 that the association had more than 4,800 members and attracted more than 10,000 people to Heffron Park every Saturday during winter. Netball is the largest sport in Randwick City, underlining the size of the operation Coleman helps coordinate.
A sporting hub with thousands through the gates
Heffron Park is one of Maroubra’s busiest weekend sporting hubs, with netball drawing thousands of players, coaches, umpires, volunteers and families.
The scale of it gives Coleman’s award a distinctly local dimension. The work recognised by the Centre for Volunteering is not abstract administration carried out behind closed doors; it is part of the system that allows hundreds of teams to take to the courts each week in an organised competition.
The association’s growth has also been accompanied by investment in its Maroubra facilities. A new all-weather outdoor netball stadium opened at Heffron Park in 2025, adding six covered courts and tiered seating to a precinct already used by thousands of participants and spectators.
Passing volunteer experience to the next generation
The award citation also highlights another part of Coleman’s contribution that receives less attention than competition management: mentoring young volunteers involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Her role therefore extends beyond keeping current competitions running. By mentoring younger volunteers, Coleman is also helping introduce another generation to community service.
Her continued involvement as both a coach and umpire reinforces that breadth. The recognition is not tied to a single administrative position, but to a combination of competition organisation, mentoring and direct participation in the sport.
Recognition for the machinery behind community sport
Coleman received the Adult Volunteer of the Year honour as part of the 2026 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards, run by the Centre for Volunteering.
The awards are now in their 20th year and recognise volunteers and volunteer teams from regions across New South Wales.
Other Sydney City/Eastern Suburbs recipients this year include Eastlakes teenager Ffyon McCabe, Chippendale volunteer Susie Elelman and Bondi lifesaver Robyn Farmer.
Regional recipients will be invited to a State Gala Award Ceremony in Sydney in December, where the NSW Volunteer of the Year recipients will be announced.
Published 11-Aug-2026
